The Challenger of Destiny
by Kronikankirjoittaja
Summary: A young nobleman decides to go to find One Piece and become the Pirate King. But when he hears that he will have a troublesome rival, he goes on a journey to eliminate him. Will the nobleman be successful or...?
1. The Challenger

**A's note: This story is set over a year before Luffy's pirate adventure began.**

* * *

 **The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 1: The Challenger**

It was a beautiful day on the Aboveden Island in the Grand Line. Sun shone radiantly, clouds floated majestically in the sky and birds sang in perfect harmony. It was a fine day in every way.

That morning a young nobleman with narrow face and blonde hairs pulled back with hair gel, Greate John, walked in the halls of his home manor with determined expression. Soon he arrived to the pair of doors and opened them without knocking because only servants would announce their arrival into the room in advance.

His parents were sitting on the sofas of the salon. Cuiet, the butler of family, and Saunel, the head maid, stood near them, ready to receive any order their master would give. Greate Edric, over fifty years old mustached man with graying sandy brown hairs, didn't pay any attention to his son, he was too focused on received letters. Greate Rosalfine, a chubby woman with blond curls, instead placed her tea cup gracefully on the table as their son approached them.

"My dear father and mother," John said. "I have made an important decision."

"How lovely," Rosalfine said with smile. Edric said nothing, he just continued going through the letters.

"I have decided to become a pirate," John informed.

Rosalfine gasped in horror and slapped her hand over her mouth. Edric turned to stare at his son with furious expression. Both Cuiet and Saunel stood quietly but their tensed posture revealed that they were shocked.

"How horrible! My son has lost his mind! I'm fainting!" Rosalfine gasped before she collapsed on the sofa. Saunel, who was a tall and muscular woman, took the unconscious mistress to her arms and carried her to rest in the master bedroom.

Edric stood up and glared at his son.

"Son! Has the outdoor air damaged your brains? A self-respecting nobleman would never say such a stupidity even when he is joking!" Edric shouted. "Do you have any idea what words like that would do to our family's reputation? Think about your brothers! Your older brother Richard already has a respected post and he has married a woman suitable to his position. Your nonsense would endanger his position as well! And what about your younger brother Arthur? If our reputation is destroyed, then he will not get into the society! And your engagement! You are supposed to marry Berenicena, the daughter of Audiggér family! If they hear about this, they will break off the engagement! Nobody wants to marry a man who is a pirate! Do you understand what I'm saying, son?"

"Of course I understand, father. But please, let me explain why I need to do this," John said soothingly. "The treasure left by that dirty Gol D. Roger surely consist of riches that have previously belonged to noble families like us. As a member of nobility, it's my duty to get back what rightfully belongs to us."

"Leave the treausure hunt to Shichibukais," Edric snapped.

"But father! They are commoners! We can't entrust the property of nobility to somebody like them!" John exclaimed. "Think about it! When I have found the treasure, I will become the Pirate King. Then I will get a position of Shichibukai and I can make connections with the World Government. As a Shichibukai, I will destroy all those dirty pirates until there isn't any of them. Our family will be known as an ally of the World Government who ended the ridiculous Age of Pirates!"

Greate Edric thought about his son's words. He hated an idea that somebody from their family would destroy their reputation with a such stupidity like becoming a pirate and leaving to search a treasure whose existence hasn't any evidence. But then again he was fascinated by the idea that his family would make connections with the World Government. It would mean amelioration for family's reputation. Maybe they will even get recognition from royal families.

"Maybe there's a little bit of sense in your words," Edric said to his son. "But there must be an another way to do it than stoop to those dirty pirates' level."

"No, father. I'm not going to stoop to their level. I will get a honorable and loyal crew who wants to serve the World Government and destroy those unworthy pirates," John said to his father.

Edric sighed as he sat down on the sofa. "I see that you willn't change your mind. Fine. Do whatever you want. But you will get everything you need for your own money. I'm not going to support piracy."

"Thank you, father," John said and left the salon with pleased expression.

* * *

Later that day Greate John was sitting in the carriage and waited his servant he had sent to meet a fortune teller called Seea.

Many of fellow nobles disapproved John's habit to ask advices from fortune teller but Seea's predictions were usually spot-on and she didn't take money for her services. Instead she took fruits as payment because she really liked them. So, John had given a basket of apples to his servant and told him go to ask from Seea when John will become the Pirate King. The sooner John would get that title, the sooner Age of Pirates would end.

Suddenly somebody knocked the door and a well dressed man with brown hairs and glasses stepped into the carriage.

"Ah, Nimes. Took you long enough," John said to his servant. "Well, tell me. How soon I will become the Pirate King?"

Nimes took a napkin from his pocket and began to wipe his glasses. He did it always when he was nervous.

"Well?" John asked. "You went to meet that old hag just like I told you, didn't you?"

"Y-yes," Nimes swallowed and placed his glasses back to his nose. "Umm... She did answer your question but..."

"But what?" John demanded impatiently.

"She told that you will never become the Pirate King."

* * *

The carriage stopped in front of the little bit dilapidated house in the outskirts of the city. John got out of the carriage and walked towards the house with dark expression as Nimes followed him. John didn't even bothered to knock but instead he opened the door and stepped inside.

Seea, a short, elderly woman was sitting at the table and eating an apple when John and Nimes arrived.

"Ah, Greate John. Rude as always," Seea said as she noticed them.

"Seea! You old fruit bat! What did you mean when you claimed that I will not become the Pirate King?" John demanded.

Exactly what I meant," Seea said calmly as she threw an apple spindle from her hand. "You will never become the Pirate King. Destiny had reserved that title for another person."

"For another person?" John exclaimed without believing what he was hearing. "For whom? Tell me, you ruin of human!"

Seea wasn't startled at all from John's outburst. "If you want me to tell the future again, you must pay for it," she informed. "But I'm tired of apples. Now I want peaches."

A very ungentlemanly curse escaped from John's mouth when he took money from his wallet and shoved them to Nimes.

"Go buy those fruits. And hurry up," John hissed. Nimes didn't need to be told twice. He took money and left quickly.

* * *

"Aah. This years peaches are much better than last year's," Seea said with pleased expression as she ate one of peaches Nimes had bought.

"That's enough!" John shouted impatiently as he slammed his hands on the table. "Tell me who this so-called next Pirate King will be!"

Seea just sighed. She threw the peach she had eaten from her hand, walked to a closet and took a smoky grey crystal ball on the stone stand from there. Seea placed the crystal ball on the table John was already sitting at. She closed her eyes and rose her hands above the crystal ball.

Silence fell in the room when Seea focused. The crystal ball began shine dimly and it looked like there were mist whirling inside the crystal ball. Then Seea opened her eyes.

"I see a young man from an island of East Blue with a straw hat and scar under his left eye," Seea told. "He's the person who destiny has chosen to be the Pirate King!"

* * *

Greate John walked back and forth in his room with frustrated expression. Nimes wiped his glasses and followed his master's walking with his gaze.

"This can't be happening," John muttered. "It's not right that some petty criminal without status would find the treasure and become the Pirate King."

"With all due respect, John-sama," Nimes said carefully as he placed his glasses to his nose, "Maybe you should forget your decidion to become a pirate-"

"Silence!" John snapped. Nimes closed his mouth nervously.

John continued walking until he stopped in front of the window.

"How could I prevent it happening?" John thought aloud.

John stared out with thoughtful expression. Nimes stood still and waited worriedly his master's next decision.

"That's it," John said finally. Before Nimes had time to ask what his master had decided, John turned to face his servant and ordered: "Nimes, get me a good ship and dutiful crew now."

"Right now?" Nimes asked.

"Of course right now! I must eliminate my rival before he has time go to sea," John said with annoyed expression.

Nimes stared at his master with shocked expression before he ventured to say: "T-this was quite sudden, John-sama. Do we have time to talk about my payment before you leave on your journey?"

"What are you talking about? You are going with me!" John said.

Nimes' jaw fell on the floor for surprise. "Me too?" he asked.

"Of course, you idiot! Who else would take care of my laundry and other things when I'm at sea?" John asked impatiently. "Don't just stand there! I ordered you to get me a ship and crew!"

Nimes' posture slumped and he asked: "How many men do you want?"

John thought it for a moment. "25...? 30...? No, I want 40 men," he finally said. "And they must be strong, brave and loyal."

"Yes, John-sama," Nimes sighed and left the room to recruit a pirate crew and get a ship.

 **To be continue...**

* * *

 **A's note: _Au_ from Audiggér surname refers to gold's chemical symbol Au**


	2. Exchange of Course

**The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 2: Exchange of Course**

Finally came the day when Greate John began his pirate career. People of Aboveden and reporters were gathered in the harbor to see John's crew and his ship, Titan Pegasos.

John himself stood on the platform and said to gathered people:

"This is a memorable day because today begins the destruction of the Golden Age of Piracy! And I, Greate John, the captain of Honorary Pirates and the ally of the World Government, will be the one who will begin it!"

People applauded politely. John's parents and their butler Cuiet were there too but John's brothers weren't because Richard was ashamed of John's decision and Arthur was studying.

"How horrible! My son is destroying his life," Greate Rosalfine cried as she wiped her eyes with her handkerchief. Greate Edric said nothing, he just hoped that John would already end his speech and leave, so Edric would return back to his works.

"Look at my crew in their pure white uniforms! Look at my ship and its majestic pegasos figurehead. Look at my flag where you see a skull pierced by a golden sword!" John said. "When pirates see it, they know that the end has come! I will end the Golden Age of Piracy and lead people to new, greater era!"

Flashlights flashed as reporters took photographes and people applauded again. Some of them even cheered and whistled.

John stepped down from the platform with pleased expression and walked towards his ship.

"Greate John!"

John turned towards the direction of the source of voice. His fiancée, Audiggér Berenicena, a slim woman with brown hairs in beehive hairstyle, walked briskly towards him with expression like thunderstorm. Berenicena's maid, Koeda, a young woman with brown hairs tied into two braids, tried her best to match with her mistress' pace.

"I demand explanation!" Berenicena hissed to John as she stood in front of him. "We were supposed to get married soon but I was told that you're going to abandon me, so you would become a filthy pirate! Is this how you treat your future wife? Where's your sense of duty? Greate John, if you don't give me a good explanation, I will break off our engagement!"

"Calm down, Berenicena," John said. "I'm not going to abandon you. I'm just doing my duty as a member of nobility and get back what belong to us. We will get married when I return."

"That's all? Do you seriously think that your words are enough? You are going to who-knows where and you can't even tell when you will return! Admit that you just want to get rid of me!" Berenicena shouted.

John sighed tiredly. He was pleased that his future wife was from rich noble family but he wished that he would had got a quiet fiancée.

"I'm not going to get rid of you," John said. "I just want to end this so-called Golden Age of Piracy and make connections with the World Government. Think about it. When we will get married, you will attend to social events where even royals attends."

Berenicena thought about it for a moment. She was still suspicious but if her fiancé would actually become an ally of the World Government, it would bring a rise of social status for Berenicena.

"Very well. I will wait your return," Berenicena said finally. "But you must give treasures you have got to me as a wedding gift."

" _Loud and demanding,_ " John thought inside his mind but he said aloud: "I promise that you will get all treasures I bring with me when I return as a wedding gift."

This seemed to satisfy Berenicena and she outstretched her hand to her fiancé. John took her hand and kissed it as a goodbye. Then Berenicena turned and walked away, Koeda following her closely.

John walked to his ship where his crew and Nimes were waiting for him.

"Rise the anchor! We are leaving!" John shouted when he got aboard.

"Yes, captain!" crew members shouted. Nimes said nothing, he just wiped his glasses with nervous expression.

The anchor was risen and Titan Pegasos left the harbor of Aboveden. The journey of Greate John and Honorary Pirates had begun.

* * *

The journey of Honorary Pirates had begun peacefully. They had sailed two days already and they haven't face any other pirate group yet. Members of the crew were working with their tasks. John stood on the deck and stared at the horizon with arrogant expression. Nimes stood behind him, ready to fulfill any order his master would give.

" _This isn't actually as bad as I thought first,_ " Nimes thought. " _Maybe John-sama was right and pirates are too afraid to attack us._ "

Suddenly they heard a shout from the crow's nest: "Ship ahead!"

After hearing this, crew paused their tasks and stared at the direction where the ship was supposed to be. John stood still but he too stared forward with interest.

"Whose ship it is?" Prosper, a tall and tanned man with short brown hairs who was the helmsman, asked.

For a moment they didn't get an answer but then they heard:

"I-it… It's… It's Moby Dick, the ship of Whitebeard Pirates!"

An audible gasp spread among the crew. Only person who lives under the rock wouldn't know who Whitebeard is.

"What are we going to do, captain?" Prosper asked from John. "Should we change course?"

"Of course not! We will attack!" John informed.

Crew stared at their captain with shocked expression.

"J-John-sama! Our opponents are Whitebeard Pirates!" Nimes cried. "Whitebeard is one of the Yonkos who rules the seas of New World!"

"So what? He is over 70 years old carcass. Defeating him will be easy," John said in belittling manner. "When everybody learns that we have defeated Whitebeard Pirates, other pirates will have a good reason to fear Honorary Pirates."

"Is captain crazy?" one of crew member asked.

"Shut up!" John shouted. "Charge the cannons or nobody will get their payment!"

For a moment the crew hestitated but since they have agreed to this for big payment, the crew began to charge cannons and aimed them to the huge ship some distance away.

"Fire!" John shouted.

Cannonballs flew towards Moby Dick. But before they were even close to hit the ship of Whitebeard Pirates, a huge burst of water appeared out of nowhere and prevented them hitting the ship.

John and his crew stared speechlessly as the burst of water took cannonballs away from ships.

"W-what was that?" one of crew members wondered aloud.

John was first to wake. "What are you staring at? Recharge cannons and fire again!" he shouted.

Crew members ran to cannons and began to prepare them for another try but suddenly a column of fire swept over them and lit the sails of Titan Pegasos on fire.

"Sails are burning!"

"Water, quickly! Extinguish them!"

* * *

Meanwhile when Honorary Pirates tried to extinguish burning sails, Whitebeard Pirates followed situation from Moby Dick.

"Nicely done, Ace!" one member of Whitebeard Pirates laughed as he gave the binoculars to his crew mate next to him.

"It was clever to burn their sails, Ace-kun," Jinbe, one of the Shichibukais, said with approving tone.

Portgas D. Ace, who was sitting at the railing of the ship, grinned at whale shark fish-man. "You weren't bad yourself, Jinbe. That Yarinami was quite useful to stop those cannonballs."

"Who are those idiots?" asked another member of the crew who followed the situation with binoculars.

"I found a newspaper article about them, yoi."

Everybody turned their attention to Marco who was leaning against the railing and reading newspaper.

"They are called Honorary Pirates and their captain is Greate John, a member of noble family from Aboveden Island of Grand Line. The crew was established just a couple of days ago," Marco read from newspaper. "Apparently this Greate John has sworn to become the Pirate King and end the Golden Age of Piracy, yoi."

This annoyed Whitebeard Pirates very much.

"Who he think he is?"

"We should give them a lesson!"

"Yeah! Let's show them that Pops is the only man who can become the Pirate King!"

"What do you say, Pops?" was asked from Whitebeard who had followed the situation with mild interest.

"It's not worth of it," Whitebeard informed as he placed an empty bottle of sake on the floor. "Those are just pathetic insects. Beating them would be just a waste of time."

Some of Whitebeard Pirates seemed disappointed but because it was their captain's decision, nobody complained aloud.

Ace lit his finger on fire and thought aloud: "Maybe I should still burn their ship?"

"You heard what Whitebeard said, Ace-kun. It isn't necessary," Jinbe said.

Ace and some other Whitebeard Pirates stared curiously at fish-man when Jince began to open his mouth wordlessly.

* * *

At the same time, Honorary Pirates tried to extinguish burning sails by throwing water they have raised from sea with buckets. Some of crew members had climb to the mast and were cutting ropes of sails in order to prevent spreading of the fire. Suddenly the whole ship jerked sharply, causing John and Nimes to fall on the deck and crew members themselves managed only barely keep their balance.

John sat up and noticed that their ship was moving.

"What's meaning of this?" John wondered. Then he shouted to Prosper: "Who gave order to retreat? Turn back immediately!"

"W-we can't, captain," Prosper answered. "Ship is moving by itself!"

"How?" John shouted.

One of crew members glanced over the railing and his mouth opened in surprise.

"Captain! Our ship is moved by a huge school of whale sharks!"

"What?" John shouted. He rushed to look over the railing. And it was true. Titan Pegasos was in the middle of the school of whale sharks who were taking the ship away from Moby Dick.

John turned to face his crew. "Don't just stand there! Do something! Drive those animals off before Whitebeard Pirates escapes!"

Crew members stared each others with irresolute expressions. None of them had any idea how to drive off whale sharks.

* * *

Whale sharks carried Honorary Pirates some distance away, until they suddenly left the ship and disappeared as quickly as they had appeared.

Now that the situation had calmed down, the crew began to replace the burned sails. John stared at the sea with frustrated expression. Whitebeard Pirates' ship was nowhere to see, the sea seemed almost empty. John sighed and mourned the missed opportunity to destroy one of the famous pirate crews.

"John-sama."

John turned and noticed Nimes standing there with nervous expression.

"What now?" John asked with irritated tone.

Nimes took his glasses and wiped them before he told: "Some members of your crew have lowered the lifeboat."

* * *

John rushed to other side of the ship and saw some of his crew members rowing the lifeboat away from Titan Pegasos.

"You there! Who gave you permission to leave? Return back right now! This is an order!" John shouted to them.

"No way!" one of men shouted.

"We don't want to work under madman who wants to fight with Yonkos!" second man informed.

"You cowards!" John shouted. "If you leave now, you willn't get any of riches and fame we are going to achieve!"

"Our lives are more important!" third man shouted.

"Don't bother with the payment. We already took our payment from your funds," fourth man said.

For a moment John seemed shocked. Then he turned to face Nimes with furious expression. Nimes swallowed.

"T-they said that I will regret it if I don't give their payments from your safe," Nimes explained.

"I told you that you must get me brave and loyal men!" John shouted.

"I-I'm sorry..." Nimes said.

John groaned with frustration and stomped back to the deck. Prosper and the navigator Rafferty, a slim young man with red hairs and aquiline nose, glanced nervously at their captain.

"Where are we going now, captain?" Rafferty asked.

"It doesn't matter," John muttered. "As long as we are going somewhere."

Rafferty and Prosper began to plan the direction they should go and John sat down on the chair that Nimes had brought for his master.

John thought bitterly how he had faced his first setback so soon after he had begun his pirate career and how part of his crew had betrayed him. But complaining didn't help with this situation. The only thing they could do now is to continue their journey.

 **To be continue...**


	3. Sounds in the Fog

**The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 3: Sounds in the Fog**

After Greate John had adjured his crew never to speak about the failed attempt to destroy Whitebeard Pirates, their journey in the Grand Line had continued quite well. At least until a sudden thick fog surprised them.

"Where did this fog come from?" John asked with irritated tone and turned to face Prosper. "What kind of idea was to sail here? Take us out of here right now."

"Yes, captain," Prosper said. Then he asked from Rafferty: "Where are we even?"

"Let me see..." Rafferty said as he studied the map in his hand. "It looks like we are in the Florian Triangle."

Crew members gasped.

"Florian Triangle? I have heard many rumors about this sea," one of crew members said.

"What kind of rumors?" Nimes asked.

"According to rumors, many ships have disappeared in this sea. And sometimes people have found ships without any trace of the crew," man explained.

"I, too, have heard rumors about Florian Triangle," another man said. "I have heard that ghosts will take spirits of people who have got lost in the fog and after returning back from Florian Triangle, those people will never be able to live in sunlight."

"That's nothing," third man said. "I have heard that lost people will become slaves of zombie pirates and they are forced to work without any breaks or food until they die."

Rafferty shook his head. "Those rumors are so ridiculous that even children wouldn't believe them. People who become easily nervous shouldn't go to sea. Or what do you say, captain? Huh? Where did captain go?"

* * *

Nimes walked to the door where was written with golden letters _Captain Greate John_ and knocked the door.

"W-who's there?" John's shaking voice asked from the room.

"It's me. Your servant, Nimes," Nimes answered.

"I don't believe you! You must be an evil spirit who's just pretending to be Nimes!" John shouted. "Prove me that you actually are who you claim to be! Tell something that only Nimes knows."

"Uumm… Last year you told me to get a gift to Lady Berenicena from Aboveden's Pawnshop of Lost Riches," Nimes said.

For a moment there was silence. Then was heard from the room: "I don't believe you! You know that just because you have possessed Nimes's body! Begone, evil spirit!"

"This is ridiculous!" Nimes snorted. "You are the captain, John-sama! You should be an example for your crew!"

"I'm too important to become a victim of ghosts!" John shouted.

Nimes sighed. "There's no such a thing like ghosts. Those are just rumors that people spread in their uncertainty. But if you are ready to give up your goal to become the Pirate King, then we can return home right away. I'm sure your family understands why you returned so quickly."

Nimes fell silent and waited his master's decision. After a moment, he heard that furniture were moved and Nimes understood that his master had moved furniture in front of his door.

The door opened slightly and John peeked out.

"Bring me salt and garlic."

* * *

Finally John returned with Nimes back to the deck. Crew members noticed immediately that their captain had got prepared for ghosts.

Multiple golden, silver and iron crosses, horseshoes and a necklace of garlic hung around John's neck. He had multiple different rings in his fingers and a bag of salt in both of his jacket's pockets. In addition he had a bell in his hand. As John walked, his necklaces jingled and the bell clanged.

"'Great Jingler', Greate John," one of crew members sniggered quietly to his crew mate.

"Forward!" John shouted as he rose the hand where he held the bell. "The crew of the future Pirate King isn't afraid of nonexistent things!"

Nobody dared to say that captain's rearmament was inconsistent with his words. But saying that aloud could lower their payment, so the crew continued with their works in order to guarantee a safe sailing.

* * *

The atmosphere on board was tensed. Poor visibility and horrific rumors they have heard made everybody restless. Some of men even got frightened a little bit when they heard chinking but they calmed down when they saw that it was just John who walked around the ship with nervous expression.

Suddenly they heard shout from the crown's nest: "Ship ahead!"

"What kind of ship?" helmsman asked.

"I'm not sure… but sails are badly torn," man in the crown's nest answered.

"It must be a ghost ship!" one of men deduced in horror.

John paled when he heard this and he gave an order to Prosper: "Avoid the ship from afar!"

"But captain," one of braver crew members asked, "aren't we going to go to explore it?"

"Explore? Why should we go to explore an old, abandoned ship?" John asked.

"Because abandoned ships usually have treasures," man answered.

This made John thoughtful. Although he didn't want to face ghosts, John was fascinated by the idea of treasures that were just waiting somebody to take them. Despite that Honorary Pirates have sailed over a week already, they haven't got any treasures. Of course pirates should have treasures.

"Very well!" John decided. "Take four men with you and go to explore the ship!"

"Aren't you going to come with us, captain?" another man asked.

"Of course not! I must stay here and maintain the order!" John informed arrogantly.

Before anybody else had time to say anything, they heard a deep, unidentified sound.

"What was that?"

"I came from that ship..."

"D-don't be ridiculous! There's no-"

 _ **TROOOOOOTTTHH!**_

Crew stiffened in horror. Some of men even screamed.

"There's actually somebody!"

"Zombie pirates who are trying to lure us to their ship so they could make us their slaves!"

"Change of plans! We will leave this area immediately!" John shouted in horror to Prosper. "Hurry up! Take us out of here!"

For a while there was a little chaos in the ship when Rafferty tried to find the safest route away from the area while he shouted orders to other crew members. Finally they got Titan Pegasos to the right course and the ship sailed away, disappearing into the fog.

* * *

At the same time on the abandoned ship, Brook, a skeleton with afro, took tuba's mouthpiece out of his mouth and stared at the direction where Honorary Pirates had sailed. If Brook would have a face, he would have had a very confused expression on his face.

"I wonder what that noise was?" Brook wondered aloud. After thinking for a moment, he shrugged his bony shoulders. "Probably just some gulls that got eaten by sea monster."

Brook placed the tuba gently in left line with other instruments. "This tuba is in good condition," Brook said to himself. Then he turned and took a trumpet from right line of instruments. "Let's see in what condition this is."

* * *

Finally, to everyone's relief, Honorary Pirates got out of the fog. John glanced at their direction of arrival and sighed in relief when he didn't see any sign of that abandoned ship. However John's good mood disappeared when he noticed Nimes standing behind him with nervous expression.

"You better have to something good to tell," John said.

Nimes took his glasses off and wiped them. After placing them back on his nose, he told: "Three of your men has left the ship."

"What?" John shouted without believing what he just heard. "Why?"

"They were afraid that the ship we saw earlier was a bad omen so they decided to leave," Nimes explained. "But on the good side, they left without their payment."

John's shoulders shook slightly with fury but then he sighed and said: "Whatever. There's no place for cowards and superstitious in my crew."

Just when he had said this, John noticed that Nimes was staring his crosses and other protective items. John took them off and shoved them to Nimes. "Take them back to my room. And take garlics and salt back to the galley," John said sternly.

Nimes nodded quickly and left. John sat down on his deck chair and thought to himself: " _I can't believe that I have already been betrayed twice. Stupid worms who don't have any kind of backbone… Well, at least here will be a smaller group of people demanding their share of future fame and riches._ "

 **To be continue...**


	4. The Terminus of Certain Ship

**The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 4: The Terminus of Certain Ship**

"Captain. We must stop at somewhere to restock," Dunstan, a bald man with mustaches and the cook of crew, said to Greate John. "Otherwise we don't have enough food."

"We also must get more items in order to maintain the ship," shipwright Kennard, a muscular man with brown hairs tied into ponytail, said.

"I see," John answered. Then he turned to ask from Rafferty: "What is the nearest island?"

Rafferty studied the map for a moment. "The nearest island is Water 7, the island known for its shipyards," he told. "It's only an hour's sailing away."

"Good," John said. "Course towards Water 7!"

Titan Pegasos was directed in the direction of Water 7. Honorary Pirates' sailing went peacefully until the ship collided with something.

"What was it? I really hope that it isn't those whale sharks again!" John shouted.

"N-not this time, captain," one of men shouted as he pointed forward.

John, Nimes and others stared at the pointed direction and what they saw surprised them.

Titan Pegasos had collided with two big, sea horse like monsters. One of them was yellow and other had dark red stripes. Both of them had sunglasses and they stared at Honorary Pirates with annoyed expression.

"What are those?" Nimes gasped.

"I don't know and I don't care," John said. Then he shouted to his men: "Drive them away before they can cause us any trouble! Shoot them!"

"But captain," one of men said, "I doubt that they are wild."

"You don't need to kill them! Just shoot them until they leave!" John shouted.

After hesitating for a moment John's crew began to prepare cannons. Sea horses followed curiously the situation until one of men shot the yellow one. It whinnied in pain when a cannon ball hitted its chest and it retreated a little bit. When another cannon shot the yellow sea horse, the striped one pushed against Titan Pegasos in order to protect its friend. Just when it was going to attack again, Honorary Pirates started to shoot it too.

Shooting and sea horse's attacks continued some time until sea horses decided that enough was enough and they dived underwater. Crew members stood next to cannons just in case if those sea horses decide to attack again but when nothing happened after ten minutes, they relaxed.

"Well, now that the situation is solved, we will continue our journey," John informed to his crew.

Men returned back to their works and Titan Pegasos sailed towards Water 7.

* * *

Soon Honorary Pirates had arrived at the Water 7's harbor. John watched from the deck of his ship with arrogant expression how local people pointed at Titan Pegasos and talked with each others, clearly about Honorary Pirates and their ship. After all Titan Pegasos was the most impressive looking ship.

John turned to face his crew and informed: "Gentlemen. We have arrived in Water 7 in order to restock. We will continue our journey today, so everybody take care that you are on board when we leave."

"Yes, captain!"

"You seven," John said to chosen men, "you stay here and guard the ship."

"Understood, captain."

"Good," John said and walked down the gangway Nimes and other crew members following him.

When the rest of crew had left to town to carry out their tasks, Nimes, who was carrying a bag filled with everything his master would possibly need, asked: "Where are we going, John-sama?"

"To the restaurant," John said. "It's a tea time."

* * *

A hour later John and Nimes returned back to the harbor. John, refreshed by tea, was in good mood and planning the continuation of their journey inside of his mind. John's good mood dropped when he and Nimes noticed that Titan Pegasos was gone.

"What's meaning of this? Where's our ship?" John exclaimed. "We docked it right here, didn't we Nimes?"

"Yes, John-sama. I remember clearly that Titan Pegasos was docked here," Nimes said.

"Where is it then?" John demanded.

"Excuse me, are talking about that ostentatious ship with pegasos figurehead?"

John and Nimes turned around and noticed an old fisherman.

"Yes, it's my master's ship," Nimes answered. "Where it is?"

Fisherman sighed. "My condolences for your ship. Franky Family beat men on the ship and took the ship away. Beated men were hospitalized."

" _Who_ took Titan Pegasos?" John demanded.

"Franky Family," fisherman explained, "They are a local group of ship mantlers and bounty hunters who dismantles pirates' ships and sell ship parts ahead."

"What?" John shouted with horrified expression. "No… They can't do that! That ship was very expensive! Why did they do this to us?"

"Because we are pirates?" Nimes suggested.

"Shut up!" John shouted. Then he began to think with grim expression. "How we now can continue our journey?"

"Why don't you buy a new ship from Galley-La Company? They sells ships to both Marines and pirates," fisherman told.

John thought for a moment. "Of course we should do that… But most of my property was in Titan Pegasos!" John sighed and turned to face Nimes. "How much of my money you took with you?"

"100 million, John-sama," Nimes answered as he rose the bag in his hand.

John sighed again. "We aren't going to get an equal ship but we don't have choice."

Just when John and Nimes were going to leave the harbor, they met Dunstan and some of their crew members who were carrying just bought foodstuff. They knew that something was wrong immediately when they saw their captain's expression.

"Captain? Where is our ship?" Dunstan asked.

"It's stolen. Tell others that our departure has been moved to tomorrow," John answered grimly. Then he ordered one of his men: "Our men in watch are hospitalized. Search them and tell them that they are fired."

"What? Seriously?" man shouted in shock.

"Do like I said," John snapped. "Me and Nimes are going to get us a new ship."

* * *

Meanwhile at the northeast coast of Water 7, people there were in good mood.

"That was one of the easiest job ever," Zambai, a member of Franky Family, laughed as he went through the items they had stolen.

"Yeah but those were really pathetic pirates. They didn't even had bounties," Kiev, an another member, said mockingly.

"This time it didn't matter."

Everybody turned to look Franky, the leader of the group, who was sitting in a sun chair as his female subordinates Kiwi and Mozu were standing next to him. Sea horses that Honorary Pirates had encountered earlier were resting on the shore. Their wounds were bandaged.

"Those guys attacked on Sodom and Gomorrah. Nobody hurts our boys without punishment," Franky said grimly. His subordinates shouted as agreement.

"Hey, boss! We will get lots of money after we dismantle the ship and sell the parts and items we stole," Tamagon said as he pointed at Titan Pegasos that they have brought to their headquarters. "Can we have a party?"

"Of course," Franky grinned as he rose his sunglasses to his forehead. "When you go shopping, get something good to Sodom and Gomorrah too."

As his subordinates cheered, Franky thought to himself: " _Besides the thing I wanted from the black market is already sold. Oh well… Another_ _batch will surely come some day._ "

* * *

"That ship isn't good enough."

Iceburg, the president of Galley-La Company, sighed as John once again rejected a ship he had been showing to nobleman.

"But Greate-san," Iceburg said to John, "you said that you want a ship in order to get to East Blue. You need a strong ship because you can get there only through Reverse Mountain."

"Isn't there really any other route?" Nimes asked worriedly.

"Just like we said earlier," Iceburg's secretary, Kalifa, said as she adjusted her glasses, "you can only get to East Blue through Calm Belt or Reverse Mountain. Unfortunately we don't have to offer you a sea stone coated ship that would fit with your budget."

John glanced wistfully at one large and streamlined ship with prize of 400 million. Then he sighed and asked from Iceburg: "Do you have anything else?"

"Oh my, yes. This would suit you," Iceburg said and walked to another ship as others followed him.

The ship was much smaller than Titan Pegasos and it wasn't impressive looking but it seemed to be robust. The most notable detail of the ship was a row of hatches circling the ship's hull.

"This is Goldfish. It was designed and built by one of our the most creative shipwrights," Iceburg explained. "It's easy to control and it has lots of hold capacity. In addition it has an unique function that will surely help you when you are at the Reverse Mountain. Prize is 85 million."

"What do you say, John-sama?" Nimes asked.

John thought for a moment as he studied the ship critically with his gaze. Finally he made his decision. "Fine. We must continue our journey," John said discouragedly. "We take that."

* * *

Next morning Honorary Pirates loaded their new ship. Nobody said anything about Titan Pegasos as John walked around the ship with grim expression. Soon they rose the anchor and their journey towards East Blue continued.

 **To be continue...**


	5. Everybody's Own Important Things

**The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 5: Everybody's Own Important Things**

Goldfish, the new ship of Honorary Pirates, had sailed in the Grand Line already a week towards the Reverse Mountain through which they would get to East Blue. But now the ship was anchored in the front of the certain island.

Honorary Pirates had gone ashore on the island to wait their Log Pose to set the course to the next island. Before crew members had gone their own ways, Greate John had ordered them not to go far because they were going to continue their journey as soon as possible.

Now John was sitting in the deck chair brought from the ship to the island's beach while Nimes stood next to him.

"We have been here a hour already. Hasn't Log Pose already set the course?" John asked from Nimes as he sipped his cold drink.

"No, John-sama," Nimes said. "Rafferty told that it may take hours or even days."

John sighed with bored tone. He placed the glass on the small table next to him, shifted himself in his chair and closed his eyes.

John didn't have time to relax when suddenly couple of his men came to him.

"Captain," one of men said. "We have found ruins in this island."

"So what?" John asked with no interest.

"There may be treasures," another man pointed out.

After hearing this, John rose up. "Are you sure?" he asked from men. Their funds had decreased notably after Titan Pegasos was stolen and they must had bought Goldfish. John had no interest to waste his time on false rumors.

"Of course," another man said. "For what else those ruins would had been built if not to conserve treasures?"

This was enough to convince John. He stood up and ordered: "Get some of your crew mates here! We are going to treasure hunting!"

* * *

Soon John, Nimes and five men arrived at the ruins with necessary items. After entering John gave an evaluative gaze at walls in spite of the fact that he knew about ancient cultures as little as camel would know about sailing.

"J-John-sama..." Nimes said hestitately. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I'm sure here is traps."

"Don't be stupid, Nimes," John said in belittling manner. "Even if here's traps, I'm sure that they have already worn out."

Just when John had said this, he stepped on the switch on the floor. They only heard _TWHAP_ and John noticed that his hat was gone. Everybody turned to stare at the wall where their captain's hat was pierced by an old iron spear.

For a moment nobody said anything. Then one of men walked cautiously to the wall and removed the spear from the wall. He took John's hat from the spear and gave the headwear back to his captain.

"Watch your steps," John said as he took back his hat and put it on his head.

* * *

John and his men were walking in line down the hallways of ruins. Rich, a tall and muscular man who worked as Kennard's assistant, was walking first due to his captain's order. After him came John, Nimes and rest of men.

"I wonder who had built this place?" Rich wondered aloud as he illuminated walls with his lantern.

"It doesn't matter. Only family trees of high-ranking families and ancient treasures are important. Other parts of history are pointless," John said.

Suddenly the man who had been walking last in line stopped and said quietly to his crew mate who had walked in front of him: "Hey, check this out."

His crew mate stopped to turn around. The last man studied a medium-sized statue that depicted a woman carrying a jar.

"It doesn't seem valuable," another men stated.

"But some history maniac may pay for it. Help me lift it up," the last man said.

Another man shrugged and both of them knelt next to the statue in order to slip theirs hands under it. But before they even have time to try lift the statue, somebody hitted them from behind.

* * *

"Captain! Two of our men have disappeared!" exclaimed the man who was now walking the last in line. Everybody stopped and turned to look only to notice that their group really was missing two men.

"Those idiots!" John exclaimed. "I told them watch where they step, so they wouldn't activate any traps."

Unnoticed by them, a hand appeared from the wall and pressed a switch on the floor. Then a trap door opened under the man who had been walking behind Nimes, causing him fall into darkness. Others couldn't do anything else but stare with shocked expressions as the trap door closed.

"Well, now he activated a trap as well," John said finally and turned back to the direction they were going earlier. "Let's continue searching treasures," John said without caring about worried expressions of his crew members.

* * *

They continued searching treasures for some time but they didn't find anything. Instead they activated more traps and they had to dodge arrows, spears, blades and trap doors. In addition the fourth men had disappeared after he had fell into the hole when the wall he had been leaning on had turned around.

"Enough!" John shouted. "We have been here who knows how long already but we haven't found anything enough valuable!"

John walked to the wall and kicked it in frustration. Unfortunately he activated an another trap which caused the wall fell on him.

"J-John-sama!" Nimes gasped and rushed with Rich to help their captain from under the pieces of the wall.

"We aren't going to stay here any longer..." John said darkly when Nimes and Rich helped him stand up. "We will leave immediately!"

Without saying anything else, John walked towards the entrance, his fine clothes dusty and somewhat torn, as Nimes followed him. Rich glanced around a little bit before he followed them.

* * *

Just when John, Nimes and Rich had got out, one man from their crew came to them.

"Captain, Log Pose had registered the direction to the next island. We are ready to leave anytime," man told.

"Good. We can leave this island now," John said as he began to walk to that direction where the man had come.

"Hold on, captain!" Rich exclaimed. "How about our crew mates? Aren't we going to go search them?"

"We must leave when Log Pose still has the direction," John said. "And I really want to leave this island already."

"Captain! They may be lost and hurt! Are you really going to leave them here?" Rich demanded.

"They are adult men. They don't need babysitter," John said with annoyed tone. "But I'm sure that somebody will sail past this island."

"Don't you have any sense of responsibility?!" Rich shouted. "It's captain's duty to take care of his crew!"

"Don't you tell me what's captain's duty!" John shouted as he turned to face Rich. "I will dismiss you for that!"

"Fine with me! I leave gladly. I don't want to serve captain who doesn't care about his crew," Rich informed and turned away to walk in the direction towards ruins.

John stared speechlessly after him for a moment before he turned and made his way to that direction where Goldfish wan anchored. Nimes and another man followed their captain quietly.

* * *

Soon Golfish had sailed some distance away from the island but John was still in bad mood.

"Can't we sail any faster?" John asked grimly from Prosper.

Prosper shook his head. "We don't have enough wind. That's why our speed is what it is."

"I want to get away from that island and its useless ruins as soon as possible!" John sighed frustratedly. "Maybe we should shoot those ruins to smithereens."

Suddenly men began to scream and both John and Prosper turned their attention to what had caused commotion.

Countless pairs of arms had appeared from the deck and rails and they have began to load cannons while crew members just stood there and stared. Then arms turned cannons and pointed them upwards as other hands lit matches. John understood too late what was happening.

"Stop-" John began but his orders disappeared in booming sound of shooting cannons.

Cannonballs flew upward and they tore sails apart and almost broke the mast!

First anybody wasn't able to say anything for their shock while arms just disappeared with few flower petals. But then John got over his shock and he shouted: "It's a curse! Those cursed ruins were cursed! If we stay here any longer, it will surely get worse!"

"But captain..." Rafferty said as he stared at the torn sails, "we can't move."

"Get the oars!" John ordered. "We must row the ship away from that island! Hurry up!"

Couple of men rushed to the hold to get oars. After bringing them to the deck, they were shared to other crew members and they began row cumbersomely.

"Our speed is still quite slow, John-sama," Nimes stated.

John turned to face his servant and hissed: "Then what are you waiting for? Grab the oar and go to row!"

Nimes jaw dropped. "Row? Me?"

"Of course!" John shouted and pointed at the single oar that lied on the deck. "Get started! Now!"

Nimes stared speechlessly at his master for a moment but then his shoulders slumped. He took the oar with dispirited expression, walked to the rail and began to row clumsily. However, ship's speed didn't increase greatly and John let out his frustration by shouting his men to row faster and that their payment would decrease if they won't do their job properly.

* * *

Meanwhile in the island a black haired woman sat on the rock and followed the situation with amusement. She thought to herself if she should punish those pirates little bit more when suddenly she heard something from the bag next to her.

Woman took the ringing Den Den Mushi from the bag and answered calmly: "Yes?"

"It's me, Miss All Sunday," low voice was heard via Den Den Mushi.

"What it is, Mr. 0?" Nico Robin, also known as Miss All Sunday, asked. "You should know that I'm on vacation."

"I know," Crocodile, also known as Mr. 0, said. "But you are needed in the HQ. Return here. And don't procrastinate."

"Understood," Robin answered before Den Den Mushi fell silent as a signal of the end of the call. She put the snail back into the bag and placed the bag over her shoulder as she stood up. When she walked towards that part of the island where she had left her boat, she walked past Rich and other men left by John who were laying unconsciously on the ground.

* * *

Later, when Honorary Pirates have far enough from the island in John's opinion, crew members began fix destruction caused by cannons. Kennard and other two men began to repair the mast while others, including Nimes, sewed sails intact.

When repairs had made, John gave orders to his men and went to his cabin to sleep, saying that he needed to rest after having such a mentally and physically hard day.

 **To be continue…**

* * *

 **I just want to tell you guys that I'm going to have a break with this story. I haven't figured yet what kind of plot the next chapter would have and there's an another of my story that's in-progress. I would like to finish that story before I continue this. Thank you for reading this.**


	6. Bad for Body and Nerves

**A long-ish chapter ahoy!**

* * *

 **The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 6: Bad for Body and Nerves  
**

"What's the meaning of this?" Greate John asked as he shivered in his white captain uniform on the deck of the Goldfish. "Now should be summer. Why it's suddenly so cold?"

"We have arrived in the area of winter islands, so the temperature is regular, captain," Rafferty told.

"What? How's that possible?" John asked while he put on the thick jacket Nimes had brought. Before Rafferty had time to begin his explanation about different types of islands, John informed: "I'm not going to stay here and freeze. Search us the shortest way to out of here."

"Very well, captain," Rafferty said. After studying the map for a while, he said: "If we go west in the direction of Drum Kingdom, then-"

Suddenly John became interested. "Did you say Drum?"

"Yes, I said," Rafferty answered. "How so?"

"Drum Kingdom is one of the World Government members," John said, sounding now more eager. "Which means that getting to know the king of the island, Wapol, we will get closer to become the Shichibukai!" His next words John directed to everybody. "Towards the Drum Kingdom!"

Men shouted as a sign of agreement and Goldfish was directed towards the winter island.

* * *

"Drum Island visible!"

John and Nimes stood on the deck and staret at the snowy, approaching island while men prepared for landing.

"Captain. We should put down our pirate flag," one of men said to John. "Otherwise they will send soldiers to attack us."

"But how else would they recognise us?" John asked with annoyed tone. "Leave the flag on the mast. I'm sure that we are already known here, so the king is propably already preparing the reception for us."

"If you say so, captain…" man said unsurely before he went back to his work.

Goldfish sailed evenly towards the island. John stared at the beach with a telescope in order to see if there was anyone ready to welcome them and escort them to the king. But there was nobody.

"Umm… John-sama…" Nimes said carefully while wiping his glasses. "There's too quiet in my opinion. I don't even see fishermen anywhere. I have bad feeling about this."

John said nothing as he lowered the telescope but inside his mind he agreed with Nimes.

When they almost reached the beach, John turned to shout orders to his men when suddenly a gunshot was heard and John's captain hat fell on the deck. There was a visible bullet hole in the white hat.

"Not again!" John shouted.

"Get lost, pirates!"

Everybody on the ship turned towards the source of the voice and saw a group of men standing on the beach and targeting them with their rifles.

"We won't let you here, pirates! Leave immediately!" one of men shouted.

"Listen me!" John shouted. "We are Honorary Pirates, the future allies of the World Government and-"

John's speech was interrupted when another man shot the bullet right in front of him. John jumped back in fear and collided with Nimes, causing both of them falling on the deck.

"How dare you? Don't you recognise our flag?" John shouted as he sat up.

"The people here seem to really hate pirates," said Prosper who had walked to John and Nimes.

"I think we should leave, John-sama," Nimes suggested. "Since the people of this island are so hostile towards us, I'm sure that the king too hates pirates."

"No," John said darkly as he stood up. "We won't leave yet." He said to Prosper: "Tell men that we will sail little bit further from this island and get around it to search an another place for landing."

"As you wish, captain," Prosper said and went to give orders to the crew.

* * *

"I don't see anybody here. We will dock here," John ordered.

Goldfish's anchor was lowered into the water and John, Nimes and seven men stepped ashore via the gangway.

"Captain," one of men said. "Are you sure it's good idea to go to introduce ourselves to the king? We aren't allies of the World Government yet, so we propably aren't allowed to meet him."

"We will be allowed," John reassured. "Unlike those crazy commoners, king Wapol has surely heard about us and will gladly receive us because we represent nobles."

Men's faces told that nobody agreed with their captain but it wasn't said aloud.

"Well, does anybody know where the king's castle is?" Dunstan asked while he adjusted his backpack on his back.

"Of course I know. I read some time ago from a newspaper article about the members of the World Government that Drum Castle is located on top of the largest mountain of the Drum Rockies," John informed confidentally and pointed at the drum shaped mountains in the distance.

The rest of group stared at the mountains with silent shock. Nobody had prepared for mountain climbing on this journey.

"Are you sure you want to go with us to meet the king? This isn't going to be a picnic," Nimes said to Driskoll, the middle-aged ship doctor of the crew who had a little bit of gray in his sandy brown hairs.

"That's why I'm coming with you. You need a the doctor if something happens," Driskoll answered. "Besides, Drum is famous for its doctors. I want to learn about their ways of working."

"Forward!" John shouted to his men. "We don't have a whole day! And Nimes! Be sure that nothing happens to my belongings while you carry them."

* * *

Men walked through the snowy lands led by John. The nature around them was quiet and they hadn't encountered any of those people who had threatened them earlier. However, Nimes was nervous and he kept glancing around continually.

"What's wrong, Nimes? You are like a skittish rabbit," one of men asked.

"It's too quiet here," Nimes answered. "I'm sure that somebody will soon attack us."

The man talking with Nimes glanced around but he didn't see or hear anything alarming.

"I understand that you want to be careful but you don't need to become paranoid-" the man said just when the nearby bushes rustled. Nimes and the man stared at the bushes with frightened expression.

"There's somebody!" the man shouted to his captain and crew mates while he took his pistol from his jacket's pocket. Others followed his example and pulled their weapons out, ready to fight with whatever would come to them. John prepared himself by hiding behind his men.

Then a white rabbit lept out of the bushes.

Honorary Pirates stared at it speechlessly. It looked like an ordinary rabbit, expect that it was pretty big.

"A big, white rabbit. Oh, how terrifying" the second man said sarcastically as he put his pistol back into the pocket.

"Be careful. It may kick," the third man warned when the second man walked towards the rabbit.

"So what if it's a little bit bigger that rabbits usually are? I doubt it does anything," the second man snorted. When he got close to the rabbit, he outstretched his hand and said: "Hi, bunny. Are you running from big, bad wolf?"

The rabbit reached forward to sniff man's hand. Suddenly it revealed its sharp teeth and sank them into the hand!

"Aaaaahh!" the man shouted in pain as he tried to pull his hand away from the rabbit. "Take it off! Take it off!"

First nobody dared to get closer their crew mate and the rabbit who was scratching and biting his hand. Then Dunstan took a branch in his hand and got closer his crew mate. He rose the branch and hit the rabbit with it, making it release its teeth from the hand. However, the rabbit didn't give up. It rushed towards Dunstan, revealing its teeth, but before it had time to attack on the cook, the man who was attacked by the rabbit earlier kicked it so forcefully that it flew behind the bushes.

Nobody mover for a while. Then Driskoll walked to his injured crew mate, took the first aid kit from his bag and began to treat his wounds.

"I would have never believe that there are so dangerous rabbits in Drum Kingdom," one of men said and grimaced when he saw wounds the rabbit had given to his crew mate.

When Driskoll had treated his crew mate's hand and put the first aid kit back into his bag, John informed: "Now that this unfortunate event is over, we can continue our journey."

Judging by their facial expressions, men weren't very eager but nevertheless they followed their captain without saying anything.

* * *

The group had walked for an almost two hours and they had still not reached the moutain. John leaned against the tree, his face distorted with weariness and frustration.

"I can't walk anymore," John groaned. "Isn't there an easier route to the castle?"

"Locals would propably know about it but I don't belive they would tell us," Driskoll stated.

"Hey, captain. I have thought about this a little bit," said one of men standing near John. "Locals showed us clearly that they don't want pirates here, so the king propably orders to kill us before we can even meet him. We don't even have climbing equipment. We should return back to the ship and leave this island."

John was going to call him a coward and order him to grow a backbone when suddenly they heard growling. Everybody turned towards the source of sound and noticed the rabbit they had encountered earlier. The man, whose hand was attacked by the rabbit, yelped and hid behind Dunstan.

Unfortunately the rabbit wasn't alone. Behind it stood a group of bear-sized rabbits. Their appearance radiated strong fury towards Honorary Pirates. The pirate group stared at them with silent shock.

One of rabbits standing in front of the pack, propably the leader, roared loudly and the pack charged towards the pirates. Some of men screamed in terror as they began to run away.

"This is wrong!" John shouted in terror. "Rabbits shouldn't attack on people!"

"J-John-sama!" Nimes gasped for breath. "I require permission to leave your belongings."

"Definitely not! They were expensive!" John shouted. Then he shouted to others: "Drive them away! Shoot them!"

It wasn't easy to pull firearms from jackets' pockets and backpacks and load them while you were running for your life but finally two men managed to do it. They ran behind the trees and began shooting towards the rabbits.

Shooting made rabbits vigilant and some of them even ran away. But the leader and a couple of pack members still ventured to approach John's men threateningly. Men tried to drive them away by shooting near of them but when the rabbits didn't give up, one of men did something drastic. He aimed towards the leader and shot it. The leader roared when the bullet scratched it and opened a wound on its temple.

Rabbits stopped and stared at their leader who licked its paw and rubbed it on its bleeding temple. The leader glared angrily in Honorary Pirates direction before it turned and ran away, followed by its pack members.

John, Nimes and rest of the group approached their crew mates. Nobody said anything, they just stared at the direction where the rabbits had gone just to be sure that they won't turn back.

Finally John sighed in relief. "So what did you learn today, men? All problems will be solved as long as you stay calm and are ready to solve the problem instead of running away," John said smugly. Men glared at their captain while John continued: "Now that those rabbits are gone-"

 _THOWMP THOWMP THOWMP_

"What's that noise?" Nimes panicked.

"They're back."

Everybody turned to stare at their crew mate who pointed to the nearby hillside.

 _THOWMP THOWMP THOWMP_

Honorary Pirates noticed a group of rabbits jumping on the hillside. Just when John was going to ask why they behaved so weirdly, they heard ominous rumble. They looked up at the mountains just to see how masses of snow fell down.

"Avalanche!" they shouted in terror.

Honorary Pirates ran in order to escape natural disaster. Soon it turned out that John and Nimes weren't able to keep up with their crew mates.

"S-stop!" John tried to shout to his men while he held his side. "Wait for me!"

"John-sama! There's a cave!" Nimes shouted as he grabbed his master's arm.

Their fear and desire for survival gave them more energy while they ran towards the cave. John and Nimes managed to rush inside the cave just when masses of snow covered the mouth of the cave. The cave was narrower than assumed, so they had to stand side by side but right now the cave's size wasn't the top priority. John and Nimes stood still while they listened how masses of snow passed their shelter.

* * *

Neither of men moved or said anything for a while after the sound of avalanche had stopped. The mouth of the cave was almost completely covered, there was just a gap at the top that let light in. Finally John said to Nimes: "The danger's over. Dig us out of here."

"Dig? With what?" Nimes asked.

"Didn't you take anything useful with you?" John demanded.

"I didn't know that we would fall victim to the avalanche!" Nimes defended himself. "I only have a pocket watch, a cloth for my glasses, a key to your safe, a notebook and a pencil in addition to your belongings."

"Then dig with your hands!"

Nimes' stared at his master, his mouth agape. "You can't be serious, John-sama!"

"Of course I'm! How else are we supposed to get out of here!" John snapped.

Nimes stared at his master's backpack. "Can I use your belongings as an aid?"

"Of course not! They aren't meant for digging!" John informed. "Now get to work! It's cold here and I want to get back to my ship."

Nimes groaned. He inched to the mouth of the cave and began digging at the gap. Very soon it was clear that it was impossible because of the hardness of the snow. Nimes was going to tell this to his master but then he heard voices from the outside.

"Bring shovels and pickaxes here! Dogs found more people!"

"The royal rescue squad has found us!" John exclaimed in delight.

Nimes retreated from the mouth of the cave just when the people outside the cave began digging. John and Nimes waited eagerly and when they finally had dug a enough big hole that an adult would get through it, John pushed himself past Nimes and crawled out.

"Thank you! You did us a great favo-" John said before he noticed a rifle pointing to his head.

"Don't try anything, pirates," the man holding the rifle said. "You're surrounded."

* * *

Their situation became clear after John and Nimes had got out. They were surrounded by a group of armed locals and growling dogs. Seven members of Honorary Pirates who had been with them were also imprisoned. Dunstan and two other men lied unconsciously on mattresses. Rest of men were conscious but Driskoll was holding his arm and one of men held his foot while they sat next to their unconscious crew mates on mattresses.

"Dalton! Here's two more!" one of locals said.

Dalton, a tall and dark man, walked to them with grim expression.

"Are you the captain?" Dalton asked from John. "Are all members of your crew here?"

"There are all who came ashore with me. Rest of them are on the ship," John answered nervously. Then he added with more confidence: "But we are the future allies of the World Government. You can't treat us this way. I demand to meet your king!"

"There isn't a king here," Dalton said bitterly.

John and Nimes stared at Dalton with shocked expressions. "B-but… This is Drum Kingdom. The member of the World Government. Where's king Wapol?"

Expressions of Dalton and other locals became darker. "King Wapol fled three weeks ago when a pirate crew attacked our country."

"What? It can't be…" John said.

"You should leave," Dalton said. "There's nothing here to you."

"Hold on!" Driskoll said suddenly. "I'm the ship doctor of this crew but I can't treat my crew mates with my arm in this condition. Drum Kingdom is famous from its doctors. Can you lend at least one of them to help injured before we leave?"

"King Wapol took all doctors with him when he fled," Dalton told. "We have only one doctor. And she is called a witch."

"You can't be serious!" John exclaimed. Then he sighed. "Where do we find her?"

"Heeheehee! It was worth coming here when villagers talked about the avalanche."

Everybody turned towards the direction of the voice. A tall, youthfully dressed elder woman walked towards them. She was followed by a some kind of reindeer wearing a pink hat that pulled a sleigh.

"Doctor Kureha," Dalton said.

"What? She's the doctor?" Nimes asked.

"Hmm? You want to know the secret of my youth?" Kureha asked.

"I didn't ask that!" Nimes exclaimed.

"Doctor, these pirates were injured during the avalanche. Are you willing to treat them?" Dalton asked.

"I knew that you idiots aren't locals since you can't travel here without causing the avalanche," Kureha said to John.

"We didn't cause it! It was those huge rabbits' fault!" John exclaimed.

"Ah, you mean lapahn. Now let me see…" Kureha said and began examining injured in painful looking way. During the examination she gave orders to her reindeer who seemed to understand them to Honorary Pirates' surprise. It also seemed to be afraid of Dalton since it hid behind Kureha every time the man even glanced at its direction.

Finally Kureha ended the examination. "Broken bones, concussion, frostbites… These men aren't going to sail for a while. They must stay here to recover," Kureha informed.

"I can't believe we are again losing crew members," Nimes sighed.

"I take them to my place to get treatment," Kureha said, "but before that I want to talk about my payment. I take all your money and valuables."

"What?!" John shouted, his face red with anger, and stomped in front of Kureha. "You quack doctor! You have nerve to demand our money and valuables as payment for taking care of little things! How dare you take advantage of our situation? You, moraless and wily witch, aren't a real doctor!"

Just when John had said that, somebody shoved him forcefully, making him roll down the hill.

"John-sama!" Nimes exclaimed and followed his master.

"Are you alright?" Nimes asked when he finally reached John whose rolling was stopped by a large rock.

"Who shoved me?" John demanded while he rubbed his aching back.

"The reindeer," Nimes explained. "I think it was offended by your words."

* * *

"What a sad bunch of pirates. I thought that they would have a decent amount of treasures since they were from Grand Line but they barely had pocket money," Kureha stated later to Tony Tony Chopper while they walked towards their home while pulling the injured Honorary Pirates by sleigh.

"It was kind to you to give them discount," Chopper said.

"They were so pitiful," Kureha shrugged. "But you didn't need to shove their captain."

"I didn't like him," Chopper said. "He claimed that you aren't a real doctor, doctorine."

"Don't worry about it," Kureha said indifferently.

Those members of Honorary Pirates who were concious lied quietly in the sleigh and tried to convince themselves that they didn't hear the reindeer talking.

* * *

Meanwhile rest of Honorary Pirates sailed away from Drum Island. The atmosphere on board was sullen due to loss of money and men but John couldn't stand the thought of giving up. Not now when they were much closer their destination than ever.

 **To be continue…**


	7. Stomach Full of Worry

**The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 7: Stomach Full of Worry**

"There it is."

Greate John was standing on the deck of the Goldfish and stared at the Reverse Mountain in front of him. He felt moved. After months of sailing and all those difficulties and betrayals they had encountered, the Honorary Pirates had finally reached the moutain that separated the Grand Line from the Blues. Soon John will get rid of his vulgar rival and take his rightful position as the Pirate King and the ally of the World Government.

The Honorary Pirates too stared with impressed expressions at the huge moutain whose peak they could barely see.

"Getting up there isn't going to be easy," one of men said and turned to face John. "How are we going to get there, captain?"

John's blissful mood disappeared immediately. "How would I know that? That's why we have the navigator," John snapped. He turned to face Rafferty and asked: "What's the best route to the peak?"

"Well…" Rafferty said unsurely. "The only route to us is that river in front of us. That how we are going to get our ship upstream is going to be a difficult problem."

Everybody stared at the river. Water flowed strongly to the Grand Line and the moutain seemed very steep.

"How about we ask advice from the lighthouse keeper?" Nimes asked suddenly and pointed at the lighthouse on the nearby island. "Maybe he can help us."

Because nobody else had any better idea, they decided to accept Nimes' suggestion and John gave the order to direct the Goldfish towards the lighthouse.

But before the Goldfish had time to even turn, the sea began suddenly rippling harder and then the whole ship shook like something had collided with it.

"Not again!" John shouted. "What it's this time?"

"Captain! It's… ummm… I don't know what it is!" second man shouted when something huge and dark rose from the sea.

"Is it a sea king? Or a huge blowfish?"

"No, I think it's a whale."

"It's a whale!"

"This isn't time for guessing games! Do something before it sink us!" John shouted to his men. Just then the ship shook again and to everyone's confusion it began rising.

Rafferty glanced over the railing and his face turned pale. "C-captain!" Rafferty shouted. "Our ship is on the whale's tail!"

"Hold on tight!" Prosper shouted as he tightened his grip on the helm. "We are going to fly!"

John, Nimes and rest of the crew barely managed to grab the ship's immovable parts when the whale swung its tail and the Goldfish flew towards the peak of the Reverse Mountain.

* * *

Just then an elderly man ran out of the lighthouse. He stared at the pirate ship flying towards the mountain before he turned towards the whale.

"Laboon!" the lighthouse keeper Crocus shouted to the whale. "Was that nice thing to do?"

The whale called Laboon wailed apologetically.

* * *

The Goldfish landed with force on the peak of the Reverse Moutain but nobody had time to loose their grips when the ship began descend down the mountain. Strong sea currents shook the ship and some of men began to panic.

"Look out! We will soon crash into the mountain walls!"

"The ship isn't going to withstand continuous collisions!"

Panic caught John too and he shouted: "We can't lose our ship now! Prevent collisions by any means necessary!"

"That special function Mr. Iceburg mentioned! Quickly! Activate it!" Kennard shouted to his crew mates who went immediately to the hold in order to activate it.

Soon the hatches of the ship's hull opened and rubber sacks appeared and began filling with air. Just when the Goldfish was going to collide into the mountain wall, the sacks were completely full and when the collision happened, they deflected the ship away from the mountain wall.

The Goldfish collided into the mountain walls but thanks to the rubber sacks the ship avoided serious damages.

The ship continued its fast and uneven sailing to the end of the river. After descending down the mountain, the wild ride continued for a while until the Goldfish suddenly arrived in the Calm Belt and the crew - plus Nimes - had to row in order to avoid facing the sea kings.

When they had finally passed the Calm Belt, the crew decided to rest. For a while nobody said anything or moved but then suddenly Prosper said to John:

"Hey, captain! We should rename our ship. Let's call it the Rubber Duck."

* * *

"Is the dinner ready soon, Nimes?" John asked as he entered the galley. "I'm getting hungry."

"Actually, John-sama," answered Nimes who was given the cook's work by John after their cook Dunstan was injured in the avalanche in Drum Island, "we are running out of food. We must go somewhere to restock."

First John was disappointed that the dinner won't be ready soon but then he got an idea. "We can have dinner to the next island while we restock."

"Great idea, John-sama!" Nimes said.

"My ideas are always great," John informed before he left the galley in order to tell about his decision to the crew.

* * *

The Goldfish was anchored in the port and the Honorary Pirates followed their captain out of the ship. John turned to talk to his crew. "Gentlemen, we have come here to restock and enjoy dinner. Nimes will now give you the amount of money I have decided. You will pay your dinner with that. Unforunately, because of our current financial situation, we can't afford a ten-course dinner but I'm sure that you will get your stomach full with this amount of money."

Nimes opened the money pouch in his hand and began sharing money to men.

"Remember! You are representing the Honorary Pirates, so behave like gentlemen. We will meet in this same place in two hours," John informed and left to town with Nimes to search a restaurant.

Men stared after their captain and then they stared disgruntledly at the coins in their hands.

"Are we really supposed to get our dinner with these?"

"I wonder if these are enough for a sandwich and a glass of water."

"That money pouch looked quite full even after sharing."

"I really hope that the most of the money will be used for restocking," Kennard said sourly.

"I hope so too," Rafferty sighed. "Does anybody know if there's a cheap restaurant here?"

"Don't you have enough money for food?"

Everybody turned and noticed a blond young man with a weird spiral eyebrow who carried a bag full of food supplies over his left shoulder.

"Yeah…" Prosper answered and showed the coins in his hand. "Do you know any cheap restaurant here?"

The young man glanced at his money. "Yeah, here's couple of them but your money wouldn't still be enough," he said.

The Honorary Pirates groaned.

"But there's a restaurant ship nearby," the young man continued while he took a cigarette from a packet of cigarettes inside his suit's pocket and lit it with the lighter. "I work there as a sous chef so I can offer you a meal."

Everybody stared at the young man with surprised expression.

"For free? Really?" one of men asked.

"Hold on for a moment! That sounds too good to be true," Rafferty said to his crew mates and turned back to face the young man. "How do we know that you aren't actually, for example, a slave trader?"

"I would never lie about being a cook. And I won't just watch quietly when people are hungry," the young man said seriously. He took a card from his suit's pocket and gave the card to Rafferty. Rafferty took the card and others gathered around him to read it. The card said "Restaurant Baratie", the opening hours of the restaurant and words "Good food, good drinks and good atmosphere".

The young man pointed towards the port with his thumb. "My boat is there. If you want, I can take you to the Baratie."

After saying this, the young man walked towards the port. The Honorary Pirates stared silently after him.

"I think he is sincere. And that card looks real."

"It can still be a trap," Rafferty said.

"I go ask if somebody knows the Baratie."

Rafferty gave the card to his crew mate and he ran to a passing couple. Others watched their conversation until their crew mate returned back.

"The Baratie is an actual restaurant ship! You can see it there. It's that big ship with the fish head."

Everybody turned to stare towards the sea and soon they noticed the ship their crew mate had portrayed a short distance away from the port.

"So if we go there, we will get free dinner!"

"I still believe that it's a trap," Rafferty repeated.

"But if we all go together, that guy doesn't stand any change against us even if he were a bad guy."

"I will go there. I heard from that couple that you might get free food from there."

"In that case I will go too!"

"I want go too!"

"I think I too will go there," Kennard said.

"Really, Kennard? I thought that you're a reasonable man," Rafferty noted.

"Yes, I'm," Kennard said seriously and crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm enough reasonable to understand that this pirate crew isn't going to succees. Not under Greate John's lead. That's why I'm going to leave this crew now."

Kennard put his share of the money to Rafferty's hands and said: "It has been a pleasure to be working with you, Rafferty."

"Kennard is right. Our captain has proved himself to be a quite unlucky pirate," Prosper said. He too put his share of the money to the navigator's hands and patted his shoulders. "If you really are going to continue in this crew, I can't say anything else exept good luck."

Six other men gave their moneys to Rafferty and left with Kennard and Prosper towards the port after wishing good luck.

The remaining members of the Honorary Pirates stared speechlessly after their former crew mates. Finally Rafferty sighed and turned to face his crew mates.

"Alright… Let's share the money our crew mates left among us," Rafferty said.

* * *

Two hours later John and Nimes returned from the town.

"I'm afraid, John-sama, that men aren't going to be happy with the food supplies we bought," Nimes said while he carried multiple bags.

"It can't be helped. We only had a limited amount of money to use," John said indifferently.

"And most of them was spent on your dinner…" Nimes muttered so quietly that his master didn't hear him.

They arrived at the meeting place where Rafferty and five other men were waiting for them.

"Where are the rest of men? We agreed to meet here at this hour," John asked from Rafferty.

Rafferty scratched the back of his head with uncomfortable expression. "You see, captain, the rest of men have left the crew."

"What?!" John exclaimed with thunderstruck expression. "Why?"

"More sailor jobs to me," Nimes groaned.

* * *

"Here you go," the blond young man, called Sanji, said as he placed the plates of food in front of the former members of the Honorary Pirates.

"Thank you!" men said as they sat outside the restaurant and began eating immediately.

"I appreciate what you did to us but I'm afraid you will get into trouble for this," Kennard said to Sanji.

"Nobody needs to know about this," Sanji answered calmly. After saying this he returned back inside the restaurant and ignored the glares he got from two fellow chefs who knew what Sanji had just done.

* * *

After the food supplies were loaded on board, the rest of the Honorary Pirates continued their journey.

John stared disappointedly at the six men who formed his current pirate crew.

"This is all my rival's fault," John muttered to himself. "Because of him I have lost men, money and even my great ship, the Titan Pegasos. But he won't cause problems anymore. I'll crush him for all that he has done to me."

"Captain," said Rafferty who was holding the helm. "Now that we are in the East Blue, you should tell us what island we are searching."

First John was going to say something but he fell silent. He had just understood that he had no idea on which island in the East Blue his rival lived.

 **To be continue...**


	8. Not Very Foresighted Acting

**The Challenger of Destiny**

 **Chapter 8: Not Very Foresighted Acting**

"All men in arms! Repel the attackers!" Greate John shouted to his crew.

The Honorary Pirates' journey was interrupted when an unknown, ominous pirate ship with a bearded skull and a spiral behind of it on their flag had begun shooting the Goldfish. During the shooting the bigger and faster pirate ship had reached the Honorary Pirates and both crews prepared themselves for the showdown. When they got near enough, the men of the unknown pirate crew threw grappling irons on the Goldfish's railings and penetrated the ship.

In Honorary Pirates' honor it must be said that they knew how to fight. All of them had served earlier in the Marines and some of them had even fought against actual pirates. Unfortunately, there was only six of them against eighteen.

"Don't give up! Fight!" John shouted to his men while he himself was hiding behind the structure. However, shouting didn't help. It was only a matter of time before the Honorary Pirates would lose to the overwhelming opponent.

"Are these really the Honorary Pirates who swore that they will find the One Piece?"

The black and red clothes wearing captain of the unknown pirate crew steppped on the Goldfish's deck. He studied the ship and the fighting crew with his gaze. Cruel smirk spread across his face.

"Is this all you have? I have seen sea slugs who have better chances to become the Pirate King than this crew!" the captain laughed mockingly. Then he noticed John. "That's the captain?" he shouted and began laughing again. "I have never seen something that ridiculous! Like a wimp raised in cotton like him would ever become the Pirate King!"

The enemy pirates stopped fighting and began laughing with their captain. John's face turned red in anger.

"How dare you, you vulgar monkey!" John shouted to the captain. "I'm a honorable man who follows his thoroughly considered plans. I don't rely on brute force and cheap tricks like you!"

The captain stopped laughing and glared angrily at John. "What do you think we pirates are? We aren't a group of gentlemen but seagoing outlaws," the captain snarled and then began stroking proudly his beard that was silver like his hairs. "Pirates don't need honor. True pirates have a faithful crew, a great ship and a beard, just like I, Silverbeard, the captain of the Hurricane Pirates, have. You don't have any of these, brat."

"Why you…" John growled and left his hiding place. He took his rapier out of its scabbard and pointed at Silverbeard. "I challenge you to fight!"

"Fine with me," Silverbeard said with cruel smirk and took out his cutlass sword.

* * *

The member of both crews placed themselves around their captains, forming a fighting area for them. Captains moved around slowly and stared strictly at each others. Both of them were waiting their opponent to do the first move.

Then Silverbeard rushed towards John and swung his cutlass! John managed barely block the attack with his rapier. Silverbeard took a step back and swung the cutlass again. John tried to block again but this time the force of strike was so strong that he almost lost his grip on his rapier. Silverbeard noticed this and with cruel smirk he began attacking continually. First John blocked attacks somehow but he didn't manage to keep up with attacks for long.

Finally Silverbeard struck with his cutlass so forcefully that John's rapier flew from his hand and fell on the deck.

John was going to get his rapier back but he stopped when he felt the tip of cutlass on his throat.

"Muahahahahhaa!" Silverbeard laughed victoriously. "I knew that somebody like you would never be able to defeat me! Unlike you, _I'm_ a true pirate! _I_ will find the One Piece and _I_ will become the Pirate King who even Whitebeard fears! You don't even have hope to live to see tomorrow!"

Silverbeard removed his cutlass from John's throat and shoved his chest, causing him to reel back but John managed to get a grip on Silverbeard's beard. Suddenly everybody heard a snap and John fell on the deck.

Silence fell on the deck. The Hurricane Pirates stared at their captain with horrified expressions. Two of John's men tried to smother their laughter. John blinked confusedly as he stared speechlessly at the captain in front of him. Then John turned his gaze at the beard in his hand and back at Silverbeard whose smooth face almost shone in the sun.

"Captain's pride got hit!" one of the Hurricane Pirates exclaimed.

Silverbeard's body shook in rage. He rose his cutlass and roared to John with blazing eyes: "How dare you embarrass me in front of my men! You will die now!"

But before Silverbeard had time to execute his threat, they heard a cannon shot and a cannonball flew past the pirate ships.

"Captain!" one of Silverbeard's men shouted. "Marines are coming!"

Silverbeard cursed and put his cutlass back into the scabbard. "Men, we're retreating!" he shouted and the Hurricane Pirates rushed back to their ship. Silverbeard turned back to face John and swept his beard from John's hand. "I will never forget this," Silverbeard hissed before he followed his men into their ship.

* * *

The Hurricane Pirates' ship had already sailed some distance away when Marines reached the Goldfish.

"What are we going to do now, captain? Should we flee?" Rafferty asked from John.

"No. We don't have any reason to fear Marines," John informed as he adjusted his jacket.

"Surrender, pirates, or we will sink your ship!" was heard from the Marine ship.

"I have feeling that we have a reason to fear them," one of men said emphatically to John.

"Let me handle this," John said to his men. Then he looked around. "Where's Nimes?"

"Still hiding," another man answered.

"He's never there when I need him," John muttered while walking towards the railing of the Goldfish. He noticed that marines were aiming their rifles and ship's cannons towards the Honorary Pirates. John swallowed nervously before he gathered his courage and inofrmed: "Gentlemen! I'm Greate John, the captain of the Honorary Pirates and the future ally of the World Government. I thank you for coming to our aid during our fight against the Hurricane Pirates but I assure you that the situation was under our control."

Marines didn't answer. Instead they made room to the person who walked to the marine ship's railing. John noticed that the person was a rather tall woman. Her light brown hairs were held back with a red bandanna and she had her long white Marine jacket draped over her shoulders.

One of marines gave her a megaphone and the woman said to the Honorary Pirates: "This is captain Even Kathleen speaking. For your information, Honorary Pirates, as long as your alliance with the World Government is nothing else but words, Marines have the duty to arrest you for piracy."

"Arrest!? We haven't caused any problems!" John exclaimed, shocked by what he had just heard. "Shouldn't you go after those Hurricane Pirates instead of threatening honorable men like us?"

"If you don't fight back, we can go sooner after the Hurricane Pirates and their captain Fakebeard," Kathleen answered.

"My name is Silverbeard!" was heard from distance.

John stared at the woman. Something about her seemed familiar but John couldn't say what. Then he suddenly realized!

"I know you, captain!" John exclaimed. When the marine captain just stared at him with frown, John explained: "You're the daughter of rear admiral Even Giseleen. My mother, Greate Rosalfine, was her class mate. We were introduced to each others as children when our families participated in the same party."

Marines stared at their captain, waiting for her response. First Kathleen just stood quietly while she tried to think if John was actually speaking the truth. Then she remembered!

"Oh yeah… I remember you now," Kathleen answered halfheartedly to John. She remembered how her mother Giseleen had met her old class mate, rather simple-minded Rosalfine, in the party and Kathleen's family was introduced to Rosalfine's sour husband and their spoiled sons. It definitely wasn't a pleasing meeting.

Suddenly one of John's men walked to his captain with worried expression. "Captain, our ship has suffered damages from the fight."

"Seems like we both are busy right now," Kathleen stated. "You should take your ship to the Gecko Islands for repair."

"Do they repair pirate ships?" asked the man who had told to John about ship's damages.

Kathleen took a notebook from the pocket of her dark brown trousers and a pencil from the chest pocket of her green shirt and wrote something on a piece of paper. Then she took a iron spear given by her subordinate, attached the paper to the tip of the spear and held out the spear towards John. "Give this paper to locals and you will get help."

After John had taken the paper, Kathleen gave the spear back to her subordinate and informed: "We are going after the Hurricane Pirates. Prepare yourselves for fight!"

"Yes, captain!"

The marine ship got around the Goldfish and sailed in the direction where the Hurricane Pirates had gone.

"What did she write on that paper?" John's subordinate asked.

"She of course wrote that we should be treated with respect and our ship must be fixed thoroughly," John said and unfolded the paper.

The paper said: _These pirates are_ _mostly harmless. From, Even Kathleen, marine captain_ _of_ _the_ _Even Sea Corps_

* * *

John and Nimes left the office of the shipyard's president after they had bargained about the payment of the Goldfish's repair. They had reached the agreement on it after John had given rest of his money as an advance payment and promised to pay the rest later.

"Next time we see a pirate ship, we will steal their treasures," John promised aloud and walked towards the outdoor, Nimes closely behind him.

After getting out, John and Nimes walked towards the Goldfish that was lifted to the stand. The shipyard's workers repaired the ship while the Honorary Pirates loitered nearby.

John stopped to follow the repairs and sighed. "I wish I would find my cursed rival soon, so I can finally begin my pirate career properly. I can't let the One Piece end in the hands of commoners," John thought to himself.

"Pirates, huh? Seems pretty pitiful group if you ask from me."

John was startled out from his thoughts and turned his head towards the direction from where he had heard the recent comment. He noticed two shipyard's workers who were checking the Goldfish's hull for damage and glared angrily at them. Men, without noticing the glare, continued their conversation.

"Here hasn't been pirates since that straw hat wearing pirate captain visited here," one of workers said.

John's eyes widened.

"I heard that one guy from that small village over there joined his crew," another worker stated. "I wonder if he still alive?"

"Propably not," his coworker said.

"You there!"

Both of men turned around with surprised expressions and noticed John standing behind them.

"This straw hat wearing pirate captain. Has he been here?" John demanded.

Men glanced briefly at each others before answering. "Yeah, he has been here," one of workers said, sounding uncertain. "Exactly in the village called Syrup-"

"Thank you for the information," John said and ran towards his crew while the workers watched after him with confused expressions. Finally John had a clue about his rival!

* * *

"This isn't how the man like me should travel," John complained as he, Nimes and the Honorary Pirates sailed on the fisherman's small ship towards Syrup Village.

"But nobody else agreed to take us to Syrup Village for free, John-sama," Nimes reminded his master. "And why did we have to take the crew with us?"

"Just in case if my rival is there right now," John informed and pinched his nose with disgusted expression in order to avoid smelling the odor of the boxes full of fish.

Rafferty walked to the fisherman holding the helm. "How long it will take before we are in Syrup Village?"

"You can already see it from here," the fisherman said and pointed forward with his index finger.

* * *

John and Nimes went to search for the city hall in order to ask from the mayor about the straw hat wearing pirate while the Honorary Pirates helped the fisherman to unload the cargo as a thank you for the ride.

They found the city hall easily after Nimes had asked about it from a local. After entering there, they explained their affair to the mayor's assistant who managed to arrange the meeting with the mayor to them.

* * *

"Thank you for meeting us at this short notice, mayor," John said with smile as he was sitting on the one of chairs in the mayor's office.

"The pleasure's all mine," Mornin, the mayor of Syrup Village, answered. Although he seemed calm while sitting behind his worktable, his slightly tense posture revealed that he was a little nervous. "How can I help you?"

"I have heard that the straw hat wearing pirate has visited here," John told immediately. "When was he here? When he left? Which way he went? Did he hinted if he will return here someday?"

Mornin blinked confusedly when the flood of the questions was directed towards him. "The straw hat wearing pirate?"

"Yes, yes!" John exclaimed impatiently. "A young man who has a scar under his left eye. He was here, wasn't he?"

"Hold on a moment…" Mornin said and leaned against the back of his chair with thoughtful expression. John and Nimes stared expectantly at the mayor. After waiting five minutes, John was going to demand the answers to his questions when Mornin suddenly seemed remembering. "The man who called himself a pirate and had a straw hat really visited here."

"Great!" Joh exclaimed joyfully. "Did he left recently?"

"Actually he visited here ten years ago," Mornin told. "And he didn't have the scar under his left eye but over it."

John fell silent. Confusion and uncertainty were clearly visible on his face.

"I don't think this is the man you're looking for, John-sama," Nimes said carefully.

"Hold on! The scar over his eye? Are you sure?" John asked from Mornin.

"Yes. I remember clearly those three scars over his eye when I met him briefly years ago," Mornin answered. "And about his destination, I have no idea where he went."

* * *

"Could Seea have meant that man?" John wondered aloud when he and Nimes were walking around the village.

"But John-sama, he was here ten years ago. I doubt he is young anymore," Nimes said. "And there are many pirates who have scars on their face. It isn't guaranteed that he is the man you're searching."

"I didn't know that you're a pirate expert," John commented dryly.

"W-What? No! I know nothing about pirates! I just deduced it because pirates are constantly fighting!" Nimes exclaimed with shocked expression.

"Whatever," John said indifferently.

They found the crew in the market, near the fisherman's booth and John led the whole group to the nearest meadow where the shadows of trees bestowed coolness on a very warm day.

"Gentlemen," John informed to his men while they stood under the large tree, " the information we received were lesser than we expected but we will continue our journey according to plan."

"So we are going to sail around without destination?" Rafferty asked sarcastically.

"No!" John snapped, offended by his navigator's tone. "We have a destination! We just need-"

Nobody had time to hear what they were supposed to do next when suddenly they heard a faint pop and soon after that something fell from the tree, right next to John. John glanced at it with confusion and then his eyes widened in horror.

"Bees!" he shouted. The Honorary Pirates didn't waste time but ran away from the angry hive that rose from the fallen beehive and flew after pirates.

* * *

"Oopsie…"

A long nosed young man and three little boys were standing on the high hill near the meadow and followed the situation with binoculars from there.

"That wasn't my intention. I just shot that balloon in the tree that you guys had camouflaged among the leaves," the young man called Usopp said defensively.

"You did hit the balloon, captain," the boy with dark green hairs, Piiman, stated as he lowered the binoculars from his eyes. "But you also hit the beehive."

"Too bad that we didn't notice the beehive when we put the balloon into the tree," said the freckled boy, Ninjin.

"Are you going to go apologize to those men, captain?" asked the boy wearing glasses, Tamanegi, from Usopp.

"Well…" Usopp said dawdlingly, "Actually I have I-die-if-I-don't-go-fishing-right-now-itis. I have to go!"

The boys' gaze followed silently their captain who hurried away. They glanced briefly at each others before the boy trio went after him.

* * *

John was sitting on the bed in the room of the local inn. His face and hands stung but the doctor who had examined him earlier had assured that John wasn't in danger and that the bee stings will heal in due time with the nursing cream.

"John-sama, I'm coming in," said Nimes' voice behind the door. John turned his face towards the door just when his servant entered. There too was signs of bee stings on Nimes' face and hands but the doctor had given him the same cream he had given to John.

"What's my crew's condition?"

Nimes took his glasses from his nose and began swiping them. "One of your men fell in the old well. Another man stepped into the hunting trap. The third twisted his ankle on the rocky ground. The fourth was accidentally hit by a falling flower pot. The fifth broke his leg after some of logs fell on him. And Rafferty's arm was broken after he was rammed by an angry bull. The doctor said that they can't continue our journey."

John buried his face in his hands and sighed deeply. "This can't be happening."

"Will we now return back to home, John-sama?" Nimes asked with hopeful tone.

"No!" John snapped and glared at Nimes. "Get me a new crew! And a good one this time! Did you understand?"

Nimes' posture slumped. "Yes, John-sama," he answered with frustrated tone and left the room.

 **To be continue...**

* * *

 **A's note: This story is going to be on hiatus for a while. I got an inspiration for a new story and I want begin writing it before I lose my motivation.**


End file.
